INTERNATIONAL. There are a lot of great opportunities to start up in business in the current climate, with more and more people choosing an entrepreneurial path over traditional employment.

Having a good idea is the most important thing for someone who wants to create a new business venture, along with having done the research to establish the viability of that idea in their chosen market. Once you have checked those boxes, the next most important thing is how well you yourself are equipped to be a good CEO.

Gaining the Skills to Become an Effective CEOBeing a CEO is about more than just being skilled in what your company does. In fact, those are things that can be left to other people further down the line. A good CEO is someone with a good grasp of all of the things affecting their business, who is also adept at leadership and business strategy.

But where do you learn these things? Well, in some cases it will be from things you have done in past professional roles, but for a good all round knowledge of business that can give you a real edge as a CEO, the easiest option is normally to study for a masters in business administration online.

What Skills Do MBA Graduates Have That Make Them Better at Running a New Business?Everyone in business needs good capabilities when it comes to management, negotiation and strategy, however in an established business there is less of a need to 'wear many hats' than in a start-up.

In an established company you, as CEO, can delegate some things to other directors, for instance letting your financial director worry about budgetary decisions and your HR director worry about staffing. In a start-up, usually these roles aren't yet warranted, and before your new venture scales you will need to basically have command of all kinds of areas of business, from marketing to budget, and from IT to supplier management.

By studying for an online MBA, you can gain skills and knowledge in all of the fields you may currently be lacking in, and have the kind of holistic knowledge that will set you apart as a business owner.

Credibility with InvestorsAnother reason to work towards your MBA online while you are preparing to start-up, or in the early stages of building your business, is that you may need to seek out external investment.

Having the coveted MBA qualification will demonstrate to investors you may wish to court that you have a well-rounded knowledge of business and are likely to be a reliable person to run the company you are setting up. An MBA is a prestigious degree, and this can't be discounted when dealing with private sources of funding, or even when trying to attract investors through crowdfunding campaigns.

Studying for an MBA can be done while you are working, so there is no need to hold off on getting started with your idea – simply implement new things you learn as you go and enjoy improving your business as you improve your skills!

MIDDLE EAST BUSINESS COMMENT & ANALYSIS

INTERNATIONAL. As our systems will get smarter, so too will our ability to understand their interconnectedness. Imagine the transformative power we could unlock if we could see the cumulative impact of a billion small actions in motion. Could IoT be the hero to save us from ourselves?

INTERNATIONAL. As our systems will get smarter, so too will our ability to understand their interconnectedness. Imagine the transformative power we could unlock if we could see the cumulative impact of a billion small actions in motion. Could IoT be the hero to save us from ourselves?

INTERNATIONAL. As our systems will get smarter, so too will our ability to understand their interconnectedness. Imagine the transformative power we could unlock if we could see the cumulative impact of a billion small actions in motion. Could IoT be the hero to save us from ourselves?

INTERNATIONAL. As our systems will get smarter, so too will our ability to understand their interconnectedness. Imagine the transformative power we could unlock if we could see the cumulative impact of a billion small actions in motion. Could IoT be the hero to save us from ourselves?